Exploration success at the Jubilee field offshore Ghana and Brazil’s pre-salt area helped drive a surge in South Atlantic drilling more than a decade ago, but new research from Westwood Global Energy Group shows that technical discoveries have not consistently translated into commercial developments.
In a study released on July 7, Westwood analyzed 425 exploration wells targeting post-rift Cretaceous formations drilled across the Equatorial, Central and Austral segments of the South Atlantic between 2007 and 2025. The study was conducted with subsurface and geospatial data from Getech.
According to Westwood, interest in the Atlantic margins is returning, with half of the acreage acquired by supermajors since the start of 2025 located in the South Atlantic.
“The analysis points to a region of major opportunity, but one where success has been sporadic. Exploration drilling peaked in 2012, following success at Jubilee and Brazilian pre-salt plays, before falling sharply following the oil price crash of late 2014. Since 2021, activity has cautiously returned, with more than 10 wells drilled per year,” Westwood Energy said.
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The study found that commercial success depends on several geological factors, including the presence of effective source rocks, depositional slope characteristics, reservoir provenance and paleo-drainage systems, all of which influence fluid quality, resource density and reservoir performance.
Westwood’s Head of Exploration & Appraisal, Graeme Bagley, said post-rift Cretaceous exploration across the South Atlantic has delivered some of the most significant discoveries of the past two decades, but noted that technical success alone is not enough.
“Commercial outcomes depend on a specific set of geological factors that impact the fluid quality, resource density and reservoir deliverability. As companies assess the next wave of acreage and drilling opportunities, understanding those parameters will be critical to identifying potentially commercial opportunities,” Bagley said.
The analysis also found differences in exploration performance across basins and margin settings, pointing to the importance of understanding regional geology before advancing drilling programs.
Brazil’s pre-salt discoveries and Ghana’s Jubilee Field are widely regarded as two of the most important offshore petroleum discoveries of the past two decades. Brazil’s pre-salt province, first unlocked in the Santos Basin, transformed the country into one of the world’s leading offshore oil producers, while Ghana’s 2007 Jubilee discovery, sparked a wave of exploration along the West African margin.
Notably, the Guyana-Suriname Basin is one such area where operators have since unlocked billions of barrels of resources through exploration.
